Town seeks veterans

Sharpsburg officials want to honor all local World War II veterans, so they are looking for help from the community.

Surviving veterans will be asked to ride in the town's annual Memorial Day parade, which will be on Saturday, May 29, town officials said.

Town officials want to hear from any World War II veterans who live in the Sharpsburg area, which includes Keedysville, Dargan, Antietam, Samples Manor and Porterstown.

Anyone who knows of a World War II veteran, alive or deceased, from that area can call Town Hall at 301-432-4428 or call the Town Council members at home.

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The Memorial Day festivities are among the events and happenings in and around town this year.

Local drivers frequently will find only one lane open on the old James Rumsey Bridge crossing the Potomac River, said Julie Hott, project engineer with the West Virginia Division of Highways.

After some problems cropped up with the construction of the new bridge, that bridge's opening has been delayed until April 2005, Hott said.

Registered voters in town will get a chance to vote on Nov. 16 for the mayoral post and the seats of Town Council members J.W. Eichelberger and Jeffery Saylor, Town Clerk Anna Jamison said.

Hagerstown Model Railroad Museum members hope to have the museum at the former Antietam railroad station open to the public by Memorial Day, museum Vice President Denise Troxell said.

The museum could be open as early as March, she said.

The Sharpsburg Volunteer Fire Co. should have two thermal imaging cameras to help detect people and fire spots in low-visibility situations by mid-April, Assistant Fire Chief Allen James said. The cameras, which cost approximately $18,000, are being bought with a federal grant, James said.

Fire officials also hope to secure a federal grant to buy a minipumper that would be an upgrade over the company's aging brush truck, James said. The grant would cover 90 percent of the cost of the truck, whose average cost is $110,000, he said.

Other events include:

In May, the town will have a fishing rodeo for local youth at the Town Pond, Mayor Hal Spielman said.

The Maryland Symphony Orchestra's Salute to Independence concert at Antietam National Battlefield will be performed on Saturday, July 3, battlefield Superintendent John Howard said.

Founder's Day celebrations will be held July 9-10, Sharpsburg Historical Society President Denise Troxell said.

The Sharpsburg Heritage Festival will be held on Sept. 18-19, organizer Skip Lushbaugh said.

The annual luminaires display at the battlefield to remember the 23,110 soldiers killed, wounded or missing during the Battle of Antietam will be on Saturday, Dec. 4, Howard said.